Konoha College
by Xe7Cloud
Summary: The gang from Konoha in a school environment. I'll cover most of the couples NaruHina,SasuSaku, ShikaTema, NejiTen, SaiIino all that jazz.
1. Pilot

It was orientation day for all the first year students at Konoha College. The time read 7:25am as a mass of students rushed onto the compound. The first year students all made their way to the assembly hall where the orientation was set to begin.

The hall was silent for the most part as the students were more or less complete strangers. Only a few people talked, Hanabi Hyuga spoke with her cousin Neji and her sister Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka spoke with her childhood friend Sakura Haruno but that was it for the most part. The group of students were then addressed by the principal Tsunade Senju, who went over the basics of the school such as rules, clubs, classes, schedules etc.

Tsunade was just about finished with the orientation when Naruto Uzumaki came bursting through the door."Hehehe sorry I'm late everyone I had some spoilt milk and I was stuck in the bathroom" he said scratching the back of his head with a big smile on his face. This caused a collective groan from the students in the crowd. Tsunade then called him over and punched him in the face telling him to sit down in the front row.

He then sat down muttering under his breath "You didn't have to hit me you know". This caused the person sitting next to him to giggle, he introduced himself still rubbing his face from the punch "Hey I'm Naruto". "Hinata" she replied blushing. Naruto then asked Hinata if he had missed anything important but Tsunade interrupted saying "It's nice you're making new friends Naruto but be quiet!" Soon after, the orientation ended. Tsunade wished them good luck for the school term and cast them off telling them to refer to the notice board if they have any further questions and with that she left.

The students left the hall with their respective schedule which they obtained during the assembly. Naruto though, was forced to remain a little bit longer as he had come late to the assembly. Eventually he was given his schedule and allowed to leave. He looked down at his schedule and saw that he had geography and with that he was on his way to class.

He got to class 15 minutes late, when he entered he apologized to the teacher. "Uzumaki, right?" he enquired, to which Naruto affirmed positively by nodding. "Well I'm Asuma Sarutobi and I'll be teaching this class. You can sit anywhere you like but please try not to come late to my class again". Naruto looked around the class and saw Hinata with an available seat next to her, he decided to sit next her since she was the only person he knew so far in the school.

"Hey Hinata, I didn't know you did Geo too. I should have stayed with you so we could walk to class together. This place was a huge pain to find" he said laughing. "Oh umm sorry Naruto" she muttered, her face red as a cherry from Naruto's previous comment. "Hahaha it's cool Hinata I'm not really mad or anything" he responded. Class flew by really quickly so much so that no one even realized what time it was until the bell rang. "Huh, well I guess class is over, that was pretty quick. Well it's your first day so you guys probably won't get that much homework." Asuma said. The class responded with an emphatic cheer.

"Wait you didn't let me finish. You guys won't get that much homework... except from me." He said with a wry smile followed by a groan by the class. "Don't worry it's simple and fun too. You guys have to make a paper mache volcano and it'll be due in three days. Isn't that great!" he added sarcastically

"Now all I have to do is put you guys into groups. Let's see Group 1 will be Hinata, Kiba, Sakura and Tenten. Group 2 will be Shikamaru, Naruto, Temari and Sasuke. Group 3 will have Ino, Neji, Lee and Sai. Well that's all for today make sure and complete my assignment." Asuma said. The various groups then began meeting up and exchanging greetings. It would be hard to work with a complete group of strangers!

Hinata then addressed her group saying that she would be totally unavailable on the last two days before the assignment is due. She suggested that they all meet up at her house at the end of school today and they could all finish it together. "Yeah that'll probably be best." Sakura said. Kiba added "Yeah and we won't have to worry about this stupid project later if we do it today". Tenten agreed also adding "That sounds good but how are we going to get to your house?" "Don't worry about it I can give you guys a ride" Hinata replied smiling. "Well it's a plan then" they all said as they left the classroom together. Eventually the bell indicating the end of school rang. Hinata, Sakura, Tenten and Kiba all assembled outside of school, they then entered Hinata's car and took off for Hinata's house.

Author's Notes

Well this chapter wasn't very romance intensive so I apologize for that. I think it'll start picking up from here because this is pretty much my first story... ever! I intend to cover most of the couples of Naruto it just so happened that this chapter was solely NaruHina.

-Cloud


	2. The Fall

"Well we're here" Hinata said stepping out of her car. Sakura, Kiba and Tenten did the same putting on their backpacks and following Hinata. "Well here we are. This is my house" Hinata said turning to face her friends who were in awe of the magnitude of her home. She then confusedly asked what was wrong. Kiba was the first to respond "Geez Hinata, THIS is your house!". "Yeah it's huge" both Sakura and Tenten remarked. Hinata modestly shook it off saying "Haha it's an alright house I guess, the Hyuga clan were always a notably rich clan. Anyways shall we go inside guys, I'm kind of getting tired of staring at my house my bag is really heavy".

The four entered the house and left their shoes at the door. Hinata introduced them to her parents "Hello welcome to our house. Would you guys like anything to eat or drink?" Hinata's mother asked rather cheerfully much like her daughter. "Umm no but thank you very much for the offer though" everyone responded. Hinata's father looked at them carefully before uttering a simple Good evening to which everyone responded. Hinata then lead Sakura, Kiba and Tenten to her room where they would begin the project. "You're just like your mom Hinata" Sakura said with Tenten adding "You are, you're nothing like your dad though he looks really strict". "A lot of people have said that" Hinata pointed out.

"I feel like we've been walking forever. Are we almost there yet?" Kiba asked letting out a sigh. "It's just around that corner" she said pointing. "Great!" he said as he picked up the pace moving quickly past the rest of the group. "I'm so tired I just can't wait to lie down!" he said as he bent the corner to enter the hallway. There was then a loud crash and the group heard Kiba yell out. They ran after him and as they bent the corner they saw him and Hanabi on the ground.

"Ahh, are you alright?" Kiba asked gritting his teeth in pain. Hanabi's eyes widened as she opened them, Kiba was on top her with their faces just a few centimetres apart. She felt his hand on the back of her head, she thought back to what happened and realized that he had saved her. Kiba had run into her and they both were falling backwards, Hanabi was at the bottom so she would have taken all the impact of the fall to the back of her head. Kiba realized this and so he took the full impact of the fall on his hand.

"Hey, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Kiba asked again as Sakura, Hinata and Tenten stood there shocked. Hanabi finally responded by saying "I think I'm alright... thank you". "Huh, thank me? For what?" Kiba asked "For protecting me from that fall" she replied. "Oh you don't need to thank me. It was my fault that we fell in the first place. So pretty much I saved you from something that I caused so I should apologise. Sorry" Kiba explained as he got to his feet. He then held out his right hand to help her up. She smiled and accepted his offer, gently taking hold of his hand and getting back up to her feet.

She then noticed that his left hand which took the impact of the fall was swollen and had a slight bruise on it so she brought his attention to it. "Ahhhh my hand, I think it's broken. It hurts when I make a fist" he shouted looking at his hand intently. "Heh, don't worry Kiba it's not broken." Sakura intervened. "Are you sure?" Kiba asked still looking a bit worried. "She's right, if your hand was really broken you shouldn't even be able to make a fist at all so I'm sure you're fine. You should get your hand bandaged though." Hanabi assured. "I could bandage it for you if you want." she added. "Really, that sounds great. Thank you." Kiba said, surprised by the offer.

Sakura, Tenten and Hinata then asked Kiba if he would like them to accompany him to the medical room. "I don't want to hold you guys back you can go ahead and start without me" Kiba said. "Yeah right, you're just feeling too lazy and don't want to do any work" Tenten interjected. Kiba stuttered trying to offer a rebuttal but he was unable to which brought a smirk to the girls' faces. "Heh alright, alright you guys got me. I think you know me a bit too well" Kiba admitted. The girls eventually decided to go to Hinata's room and start the project by themselves leaving Kiba and Hanabi behind.

"Well then, let's go to the medical room shall we, uhhhh. Oh I'm sorry I didn't even ask you your name". Hanabi smiled and responded by introducing herself to which Kiba did the same. The two set off for the medical room which wasn't too far away from where they were. When they got to the room Hanabi invited him to sit on the table until she got the bandages. Kiba jumped up on the table and looked at Hanabi as she rummaged through the drawers looking for the roll of bandages. She eventually found it and turned to Kiba who was still peering at her which caused her to blush a little. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh sorry I got lost for a second. I was wondering how you and Hinata were related and I kind of zoned out." he responded smiling with his eyes closed. Hanabi then explained that she was Hinata's younger sister by one year. Kiba then questioned as to how they were in the same year group. Hanabi laughed as this was a common question that was always posed to her and it was due to the fact that Hanabi was allowed to skip a year. "Well your hand's all better. Now you can go do your assignment" Hanabi said as she smiled and finished the bandaging on Kiba's hand. "Yeah" Kiba sighed. He started walking towards the door but stopped and turned to Hanabi. "Thank you Hanabi" he said as he scratched the back of his head smiling and subsequently leaving the room. Hanabi just said smiling to herself "You're welcome... Kiba".

**Author's Notes**

I think this chapter was better than the first in terms of romance and stuff. This chapter was pretty much solely Kiba and Hanabi. I'm not really a huge fan of this pairing but these two were just kind of leftover so here we are.

-Cloud


	3. Lost

_**(*This takes place when Kiba is being tended to by Hanabi)**_

Hinata opened the door leading to her room and invited Sakura and Tenten to come in. They obliged and entered the room as Hinata stood holding the door open cordially for her guests. Hinata then closed the door, set down her bag on a chair and sat on her bed with her legs crossed. She invited her friends to do the same to which they quite readily agreed. The group all sat down and made themselves comfortable until Hinata posed the first question.

"Well, should we start now?" she asked as she fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. "Well I was thinking that we should wait for our good friend Kiba. I know for a fact that he would be sad to miss out on all this hard work" she remarked sarcastically with an evil smile on her face. "Yeah, he was so eager to not do any work. The look on his face when he realizes that we waited for him to come back before we started the project will be priceless." Tenten added as she giggled. "Well... okay but what do we do while we wait for him to return" Hinata enquired. "What we're doing right now, talking" Sakura said smiling.

"That sounds good but before that may I use your bathroom Hinata?" Tenten asked. "Sure, down the hall, then turn right and go a bit forward, it's the second door on the left. Would you like me to come with you and show you exactly where it is?" Hinata questioned."No thanks, don't worry about it I'll be fine" Tenten responded as she left the room to head for the bathroom. She followed Hinata's instructions and successfully got to the bathroom. She then turned on the pipe and cupping her hand collected some water which she used to wash her face. She gazed into the mirror and let out a big sigh.

Recollections of the day's events flowed through her mind as she frowned. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her classes or that she disliked the teachers or her fellow students. What was bothering her was the first impressions she left on her friends. She remembered her Math class where she met Rock Lee and decided to sit next to him. They became good friends in the short period of time that they sat next to each other. At the end of class though Lee said "Well I've got a different class so I guess I'll see you later, Bro". "Yeah" she replied softly as she walked away pondering if she came off as tomboyish. Tenten shrugged it off attributing it to the fact that Lee was kind of weird.

When Tenten met Kiba, Sakura and Hinata though for the first time in their geography class they referred to her as "Dude". This pretty much confirmed to Tenten that she did in fact come off as very tomboyish to the guys and girls in her respective classes. This was much to her dismay as in her previous school the girls made fun of her for this and it was hard to find a guy who liked a tomboyish girl.

Tenten then left the bathroom and began her trek back to Hinata's room. She was deep in thought contemplating how exactly she could alter her image in school. She considered dressing provocatively like some of the other popular girls in school even though she detested the very thought. She then opened the bedroom door and entered with a huge sigh, facing the door as she closed it. She then turned around and took one step into the room stating that she had returned. She looked around and her eyes widened in surprise as she realised she was in the wrong room.

She then covered her mouth to prevent any sudden outbursts as she saw Neji on his bed. His eyes were closed and he was wearing earphones which were almost concealed by his long hair. "Oh man, I'm so lucky. I don't think he heard me. I'd better leave quickly" Tenten thought to herself as she turned to exit the room.

"And you are?" Neji asked as he sat up on his bed, resting his arms on his legs and taking off the earphones. Tenten turned around slowly, bemoaning her bad luck that Neji was actually awake. "I'm umm, Tenten" she responded nervously as she smiled blushingly, scratching the back of her head. "It would be rude of me to ask you your name without giving mine, so I'm Neji Hyuga but can you please tell me why you're in my room?" he asked as he lifted his head to look at her.

"Sorry, I'm a friend of Hinata and I came over to do a geography project. Before we got started I went to the bathroom and when I was returning I guess I got sidetracked and entered the wrong room by mistake." Tenten explained. "I see. What's bothering you? If you don't mind my asking that is." Neji asked looking intrigued. "Huh, what do you mean?" she replied. "Well, as I look into your eyes now, they seem to conceal a troubled spirit. Also you just said that you got sidetracked which means that you were thinking about something lending credence to my conjecture that something is in fact bothering you." Neji stated. Tenten then let out a big sigh and walked towards the bed where Neji was sitting. She sat down next to him saying "Very astute, looks like I can't hide anything from you".

She then went on to explain her situation to him and the difficulty she was facing in trying to solve it. "Well that is a very troubling situation but I think I have the solution" Neji said calmly after careful consideration. Tenten then turned and looked at him intently as she waited for his response. He then stated "I think you should just be yourself. It sounds cliché but I think it's the right course of action for this situation. If you are tomboyish by nature why go against it? Quite frankly I think the so called popular girls in school are pretty annoying. So I don't think you should alter your personality to suit others because in my opinion the way you are now is perfectly fine".

Tenten sat there quietly for a couple seconds assimilating the information she was just given. "I think I understand now. The simplest answer is often the correct one huh. Thank you". Tenten then looked down at her watch and realized that she was gone for at least ten minutes. "Oh shoot! I've got to get back to Hinata's room. We still haven't started the assignment." she shouted as she got up to dart out of the room. "Wait, I'll walk with you" Neji said as he got up from his bed too.

"Oh you want to walk with me" Tenten said along with a mischievous chuckle. "It's not like that" Neji responded frowning. "I'm sure" Tenten replied raising her eyebrows up and down while poking fun at him. "Well it's just that you said you were lost when you entered my room so I assume you don't know where you are right now." Neji said with a slight smile on his face. "Oh yeah that's right" Tenten muttered as she laughed nervously, her face red from her blunder.

They both then left Neji's room and he led the way back to Hinata's room. He leaned up against the wall next to Hinata's door and said "Well we're here". "Thank you for everything Neji" Tenten said. "No problem Tenten" he responded. This brought a smile to her face as she thought to herself "Finally someone who doesn't call me bro or dude". She entered Hinata's room to find the group all present and work on the assignment finally went underway.

**Author's Notes**

I'm really sorry for the huge disparity between release dates but I've had a lot of school work to do plus my computer has been acting up. Anyway back to the story, I had some trouble approximating Tenten's personality so if her character seems a bit odd I'm sorry. Also Neji is my favourite character so if i seem biased towards him I'm sorry again.


	4. Opposites Attract

Eventually the group finished the assignment and they were getting ready to leave Hinata's house. They were all walking out together while commenting on the nature of the assignment. "That assignment seemed really easy almost like we didn't need four people in a group." Sakura said. "Heh I don't really care, it just means less work for me!" said Kiba with a huge grin on his face. They finally made it to the front gate of Hinata's house which seemed like quite a trek. The group said their goodbyes and made their way to their respective houses.

The next day arrived and with it the second day of school at Konoha College. It was a good half an hour or so until school began but there was a meeting adjourned amongst the members of the second group inside of school. Naruto, Temari, Sasuke and Shikamaru gathered at the entrance of school to discuss their plan of action for their assignment. "I think we should stay back in school today to complete the project." Sasuke suggested. He stood leaned up against a wall with folded arms and closed eyes as he spoke calmly.

"After school?! We'll be here super late though." Naruto protested as he nudged Sasuke in the ribs. "Why did you just elbow me in the ribs?" Sasuke asked looked extremely irked. "Uhhh sorry it's just hard to tell if you're asleep or not because your eyes are closed you know" Naruto said with his usual knuckleheaded smile. Sasuke looked at him with a grim stare for a couple seconds and then broke the silence saying "Look, this assignment seems relatively easy so it shouldn't take that long". After listening to Sasuke's reasoning Naruto assessed the data and eventually nodded in agreement. Sasuke turned to Temari and asked "And you?" "That's fine with me" she responded. Temari then turned to the bench where Shikamaru was sitting to ask his opinion. She was however unable to do so because Shikamaru was lying on the bench, with his hands clasped behind his head, taking a nap.

Temari then charged over to the bench Shikamaru was on and shouted directly in his ear "Wake up you slacker!" Shikamaru fell off the bench, startled from his surprise awakening. "Jeez, be quiet lady people are trying to sleep here" Shikamaru said as he slowly got to his feet. He then yawned and climbed back on the bench, going back to sleep with his back facing Temari. Temari was someone who did everything very efficiently and she hated wasting time so by now she was infuriated with Shikamaru's lack of action. "Grr, I knew you were a slacker. I saw you sleeping during every one of our mutual classes!" Temari shouted, directly in his ear again. "Can't a guy just sleep in peace these days? What a drag." Shikamaru said with a deep sigh. Temari grabbed him by his collar and told him "You know, you could at least pretend to be interested in what we're doing."

Sasuke then intervened, telling Temari that Shikamaru's help wasn't necessary in completing the assignment. The remaining members of the group decided to continue discussion elsewhere in a more productive environment. Sasuke and Temari took off instantly leaving Naruto behind. Naruto then turned to Shikamaru and asked if everything was okay. He responded "Yeah, but girls are so...troublesome" then subsequently went back to sleep.

Naruto then turned to follow his remaining group when he realized that they were already gone. "Those bastards!" he shouted as he sprinted off to look for them. Naruto was running around haphazardly looking in random places to find his group, he instead ran into Hinata, Neji and Hanabi. Neji was turned around looking at something in the distance when Naruto spoke "Hey good morning Hinata. I'm looking for Sasuke and Temari have you or any of your sisters seen them?" "Oh! Umm Naruto "Hinata said nervously, with a reddish tinge on her cheeks as she realized Naruto blunder.

"What did you say?" Neji asked looking incredibly annoyed at being mistaken as a girl. "Holy crap! You're a dude!" Naruto exclaimed as Neji had turned around. "Yes... I am" Neji replied with an unchanged facial expression. "Haha, I'm sorry man. It's just that you were turned around and your hair is even longer than Hinata's" Naruto explained laughingly as he put one arm around Neji and pulled him closer. "I see" Neji sighed as he released himself form Naruto's grip. "Oops where are my manners? My name's Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto stated. "I'm Neji Hyuga pleased to meet you, so you're the famous Naruto Uzumaki that Hinata's always speaking about" Neji said as he turned to her. "N-Neji" Hinata stuttered looking blushingly at the ground.

"Well I guess I'm a popular guy" Naruto laughed obliviously. "Oh right I was looking for Temari and Sasuke. Have you seen them?" Naruto enquired. "I'm sorry Naruto we've just come to school, so I don't really know. You could probably try the library though. I assume you guys are going to do your Geo assignment so the library would be a good place to start." Hinata said. "Wow how'd you know we were going to do the Geo project?" "Oh well I remembered that they were in your group" Hinata said smiling. "Oh yeah that's really smart, thanks Hinata" Naruto said as he ran off. "You're welcome, good luck finding them" she said as she saw him off.

Sasuke and Temari sat quietly discussing their assignment when Naruto came bursting through the library doors. When he caught a glimpse of them he rushed to where they were and shouted "Hey what the hell guys! You left me behind". "Well you were taking forever talking to that slacker so we left you behind. We figured you would've caught up eventually though" Temari responded calmly. "Naruto, you do realize this is a library?" Sasuke finally said in a soft tone. Naruto then looked up to see the librarian Shiho standing angrily in front of him. She told him to sit down quietly or leave the library to which he obliged to the former. The group spent the remaining time until school started discussing the project. After school the three of them assembled and they finished the assignment relatively quickly.

"That was really easy even Naruto could've done that by himself" Temari commented chuckling. "Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke intervened stating "You're right that was easy, too easy. Anyway it doesn't matter we've done what we set out to do so we can leave". Each group member then left the compound awaiting the date for which the assignment was due. Eventually the promised day arrived, each group sat together with their respective assignments discussing any final details. Asuma entered the classroom accompanied with the scent of cigarettes. "Sorry I'm late guys I had some uhh business to attend to" he stuttered.

He then turned and faced the class with a perplexed look "What's with all these paper-mache volcanoes". Temari then reminded him of the assignment that he gave on the first day of class. "Oh yeah, that" he responded. "Well do you want us to put it on your desk or something?" Sakura questioned. "About that, you can keep the assignments" Asuma said. "What!?" the class shouted confusedly. "I never intended to grade this assignment. It was simply a means of fostering bonds between you guys. On the first day of school this classroom was dead silent but when I came in today all of you were talking amongst yourselves."

"I see and that's why this assignment was so short, it wasn't intended to be difficult." Sasuke added. "Bingo. Well that's that, you could put away your stuff now and let's get down to some work" Asuma said as he turned to the board and started writing. Temari, Sasuke and Naruto sat down together as they were in the same group while Shikamaru sat in his usual seat at the back of the class "What a waste of time" Sasuke said as he let out a sharp sigh. "Looks like Shikamaru was right" he added. Naruto then asked with a puzzled look on his face "What do you mean Shikamaru was right?"

"From the inception Shikamaru had little to no interest in this assignment. I now see that this was because he saw through Asuma sensei's ruse right from the start." Sasuke explained. "Wait, wait what if he was just too lazy and he didn't feel like doing any work?" Naruto asked. "It's a possibility but I don't think that it's the case. When the assignment was first given I was looking around to see the members of my group and I saw him sitting there with a thought invoked face. I didn't think much of it at first but now in retrospect I'm pretty sure that's when he figured it out" Sasuke stated. Temari then intervened "Don't you think you're giving him too much credit. I mean no one else discerned it why would he of all people be the one to figure it out". "Don't misunderstand, Shikamaru may come off as lazy but he is in all senses of the word a genius." Sasuke said as he retrieved a notebook from his bag.

Naruto was about to ask another question when he was interrupted by Sasuke "That's enough talking we've got work to do". Temari looked across at Shikamaru and sighed deeply as Naruto silently argued with Sasuke for shutting him up. Later that day during lunch Shikamaru lay down under a tree with his hands interlocked behind his head as he tended to do quite often. Temari came to his resting spot, laid down her bag and sat down next to him.

"Hey, I'm sorry for freaking out on you back then Shikamaru." Temari said as she let out a big sigh. Shikamaru opened his eyes and glanced over to where she was sitting, she then continued "It's just that growing up I had two brothers, one older and one younger. Unfortunately for me my older brother, Kankuro, was a slacker and my younger brother, Gaara, was a troublemaker. This meant that I had to play the role of the bad guy by making unpopular ground rules and ensuring these rules were adhered to. So for most of our childhood I adopted a really strict personality and I guess it kind of stuck with me."

Shikamaru then diverted his focus from Temari and looked up at the sky. "You don't have to worry about apologising for that incident, it's alright." he paused shortly and then continued "Whenever I want to clear my mind I usually just lie down and look at the clouds, it's relaxing." "I can't do that, it's a waste of time, I could be doing something productive" Temari said frowning. "Life's not all about efficiency. The reason you're like this is because it's imbued in you due to your childhood. Sometimes you just have to kick back and relax." Shikamaru stated as he yawned and shut his eyes. Temari then sat there and stared at Shikamaru who remained motionless she then thought to herself "Ugh did he really just fall asleep? How could he be so carefree and yet so insightful? Should I take his advice?"

The bell eventually rang to signal the end of lunch and it also served to wake Shikamaru up. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, letting out a big yawn and then finally beginning his usual post-nap stretch. He looked around and noticed that Temari was lying next to him still asleep. "What the-" he exclaimed with his eyes wide open as if he'd seen a ghost. His outburst woke Temari up who sat up and carried out a similar routine to Shikamaru. She looked over at him and saw his surprise filled face which caused her to laugh hysterically. "What's with that look?" she inquired still chuckling. "What can I say I took your advice" she added with a warm smile to a still speechless Shikamaru.

"Well apparently it was good advice. You're totally different from before, I told you it would work. Oh well I'm going back to sleep." Shikamaru finally said as he laid back down. "Oh no you don't, the bell rang, we have to get to class" Temari said as she grabbed Shikamaru by the ear. "Oww. Do we really have to go to class? It's such a drag" he bemoaned. "Yes we have to. We can't be slackers." She retorted.

As the two walked to their respective classes Temari came to a sudden realization, she then said "You and I have very contrasting personalities, characteristics and opinions. Therefore one would think that we wouldn't be able to get along well together." "Yeah, that seems like logical reasoning." Shikamaru stated. "I feel like it's the opposite though. I think our differences are complementary to each other. Where I fall short you excel and vice versa. So we help each other improve as individuals by our interactions." Temari said. Shikamaru after some thought nodded and accepted Temari's hypothesis but not without first describing it as troublesome.

"You find everything troublesome" she joked as they came to a halt. "Well goodbye, this is my class" Temari said as she pointed to the door. "See you later then Temari, take it easy." Shikamaru replied as he continued walking his, hands clasped at the back of his head as usual. "You better not be thinking of skipping class" she shouted out in the distance. "Wouldn't dream of it" he replied as he turned around and gave her a subtle wink. "Hmph" Temari responded as she entered her classroom, smiling brighter than ever before.

_**Author's Notes**_

I'm back guys. Sorry for the massive hiatus but good news, my exams are finished and I've got a new computer so I'll try to write more of this jazz. Anyway, about this story I wrote half of it a while ago and the other half was more recent so it might be a bit disjointed.

~Cloud .


	5. Confrontation

The bell rang to signify the beginning of P.E class. Everyone made their way to the field where they were previously instructed to gather by their sensei. They sat on the bleachers to await their sensei's arrival, each in their own respective groups.

Shikamaru and Choji sat at the back eating potato chips as they usually did. Temari and Tenten sat down together speaking about an assignment they had received earlier. Neji sat down by himself until Lee came and engaged him in a conversation about training. Neji was a member of the karate club and Lee belonged to the boxing club, this prompted Lee to challenge him almost every day to spar with him, much to Neji's dismay.

"Neji! Let us practice together so that we may hone our skills in our respective sports" Lee proposed with raging fire in his eyes. "Is that really a good idea right before we have P.E?" Neji questioned with a slightly irked facial expression. "I guess you're right. Then tomorrow we shall train!" Lee shouted. Neji sighed deeply at his choice in friends as Lee continued on about training.

Sakura and Ino sat together talking "Do you know that boy Sasuke?" Sakura asked. Ino nodded and allowed Sakura to continue "I think he's really cute but I've never really spoken to him. As a matter of fact I hardly see him speak to anyone." "I think he's friends with Shino and Neji. They're the only people I ever see him with. Naruto speaks to him as well but they seem to be at odds with each other most of the time" Ino explained.

"I don't think you should talk to him though because he has a really cold demeanour. I thought he was cute too so I tried to talk to him and he completely ignored me. Therefore if he ignored me then you have no chance billboard brow!" Ino teased. "Well he probably ignored you because he doesn't like animals Ino-pig!" Sakura retorted. The two went on like this quite often so no one really took notice.

Naruto then arrived, he surveyed the area to scan for any available seats and found one next to Kiba and Shino. He sat down next to them and greeted them "Hey Kiba and uhh sorry but what's your name again?" "Shino, we sit next to each other in Math." Shino stated with an unchanged tone in his monotone voice." "Right sorry you're just really quiet so it's hard to remember you" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head with his almost perpetual smirk. Shino sighed and continued to read his book. "Real smooth" Kiba teased, subsequently returning his focus to Hanabi who had just arrived.

Naruto sat there bored out of his mind, trying to figure out what he could do. He looked around and saw Kiba's backpack next to him unguarded as his attention was diverted to Hanabi who he was speaking to. He stealthily grabbed the backpack, without alerting anyone around him and hid it under the first row of the bleachers. He then sat there with a devious smile on his face waiting for Kiba to realize that his bag had disappeared.

Five minutes passed and Kiba was yet to realize, Naruto was growing impatient but he couldn't out rightly ask him about his backpack lest he gets too suspicious. "Jeez this is taking too long I need some excitement or I'll die!" Naruto thought to himself as he resurveyed the area for something interesting. He then saw Hinata sitting by herself studying. "Oh it's Hinata, finally someone I could talk to" Naruto thought as he got up and made his way toward her.

Hinata looked up from the book she was reading to see Naruto heading towards her. She smiled and moved her backpack which was occupying the space next to her, inviting Naruto to sit. "Hey Hinata, what's up?" said Naruto, initiating the conversation. "Hi Naruto" she replied with her characteristic blush whenever Naruto was around.

She continued "I have a test later today so I'm just making sure that I'm ready" "Jeez, you're really serious about your schoolwork! I'm sure you'll do great though, you're really smart." Naruto reassured. Hinata thanked him for his sentiments as it made her feel more confident so much so that she put away her books and the two continued their talk.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had just arrived and sat down by himself in the first row. Naruto, who was in deep conversation with Hinata completely forgot about the prank he played on Kiba, the latter just realizing that his bag was missing. Kiba stood up angrily with a scowl on his face, surveying all around him in search of his missing backpack. He then saw his bag on the ground, directly beneath where Sasuke was sitting.

He let out a growl as he proceeded towards Sasuke, "Hey! What the hell man!" Kiba shouted. Sasuke lifted his head and diverted his attention to Kiba who was now directly in front of him. "Why the hell did you steal my bag bro?" Kiba questioned, still shouting. The confrontation started garnering the attention of everyone else present, with all eyes were focused solely on it.

Naruto didn't hear what Kiba had asked Sasuke exactly so he was unaware that his prank sparked the altercation. Sasuke rose to his feet, his facial expression cold as usual but he seemed slightly more irked by Kiba's accusation. "I didn't steal anything of yours" Sasuke responded. "Then why was my fucking bag by you?" Kiba retorted angrily.

"I don't know nor do I care, I just arrived. From what I understand you were looking for your backpack is it? Well, you found it and bear in mind I had nothing to do with its disappearance. I suggest you take it and get lost." Sasuke stated firmly. "Why you!" Kiba snarled as he grabbed Sasuke by his collar.

Sasuke then grabbed Kiba's arm and the two stood there ready to retaliate whenever the first punch was thrown. Naruto, now realizing the cause of the confrontation, then sprang into action parting the fight explaining that he was the one who hid the backpack. While this did end the fight it did not serve to end the bad blood between Kiba and Sasuke who were still staring each other down.

"Ah yes, youth in its prime!" Gai sensei shouted. "Gai sensei! Why were you so late?" Lee questioned with extreme vigour in his voice. "Well you see Lee, I was challenging Kakashi to a game of rock-paper-scissors and needless to say it got intense but never mind that. Today we will be playing a game of football (***When I say football I mean European football or** **soccer***).

You will be divided into two teams, Team A and Team B. Sasuke will be the captain of Team A and Kiba will be the captain of Team B." Everyone then sat down on the bleachers except the two captains. Gai then took out a box that contained everyone's names on individual pieces of paper and invited the captains to take turns choosing, which would determine their team members. Sasuke drew first and he revealed Naruto's name, he sighed thinking to himself that this is going to be a long day.

Eventually the captains filled out their respective teams, Team A containing Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Lee, Sakura, Hinata and Tenten. Team B consisted of Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Choji, Sai, Ino and Temari. The individual teams then huddled together and planned their strategies.

"Alright, we need to appoint someone as the goalkeeper." Sasuke established. Naruto raised his hand volunteering for the position. "I can do it" Tenten said. "Okay, Tenten will be the keeper." Sasuke stated to which Tenten celebrated and Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke continued "We'll have three defenders, Sakura, Naruto and myself" "Wait, wait, wait I wanted to be the striker" Naruto said frowning. "Didn't you want to be the goalkeeper a second ago? Anyway it doesn't matter, the fact of the matter is you'll have to play defence because I intend to play a more defensive game." Sasuke stated firmly. "Fine" Naruto pouted.

Sasuke continued once more "We'll have two midfielders Neji and Hinata. They have good vision and will be able pass accurately. That leaves Lee who will play as a forward. His pace will help us score on the counterattack" Everyone agreed to and took up their positions on the field ready to start the game.

"Now I expect a clean match, this is a mixed game so try to keep the hard tackles to a minimum" Gai advised before he blew the whistle to commence the game. These words, however, weren't heeded by either team who were raring to get at each other, fired up by the rivalry between their captains.

**Author's Notes**

Seeing as the World Cup is going on I felt inspired to write some stuff about football. The next chapter will cover the actual match… the suspense :D. Anyway this chapter ended up being more comical than romantic so yeah I hope you enjoyed reading it.

~Cloud


	6. Game on

The match was underway and Team A had possession. Sasuke decided to start slowly so that he could discern the opposing team's formation and tactics. He thought to himself "Hmm, it looks like they're playing with 3 strikers, 1 midfielder and 2 defenders. That's a very attack minded team but they only have 1 midfielder. How do they expect to keep possession of the ball and pass it to the strikers?"

As the game progressed Sasuke started to see some of the tactics of the opposition. He thought to himself again "The defence comprises of both Shikamaru and Temari. Shikamaru is usually lazy but when he's with Temari she makes him do the work appointed to him. Temari is also often guilty of overworking so Shikamaru will be there to ensure she sticks solely to her duty. They'll be hard to get through, they have a pretty good understanding." His conjecture was accurate as this was the exact thought process of the rival team.

***Flashback* **

"Alright who's going to play in the defence?" Kiba questioned as he was preparing his team. "Shika and I will do it." Temari eagerly volunteered as Shikamaru sighed in the background, imagining the amount of work he'd have to do.

"Aww, that's so cute you guys have nicknames for each other" Ino said clasping her hands and smiling teasingly at Temari. "I didn't know you guys were going out." Kiba said completely side-tracked from the game for a moment. "We're not dating, Shikamaru is just a really long name so I call him Shika." responded a blushing and visibly flustered Temari. "Being in a relationship would be too troublesome" Shikamaru added scratching his head.

The pair then glanced at each other and subsequently looked away to try to avoid attention from the others. "Uh, sure whatever you guys say" Kiba stated sarcastically "Anyway back to more pressing matters we'll have Choji in goal, you two lovebirds in defence, Ino in midfield and Sai, Shino and I will play in attack."

***End of flashback***

Five minutes of the game had elapsed which allowed Sasuke to fully ascertain Team B's tactics. He realised that they intended to pass long balls from the defence to the forwards. This would be an effective strategy due to the fact that Sai, Shino and Kiba were relatively tall and hence would be good in the air. Sasuke assigned Naruto to cover Sai, Sakura to cover Shino and he would handle Kiba.

"Heh, how do you like our game plan?" Kiba asked, smirking at Sasuke. "I don't. Gai-sensei specifically said to take caution while playing because this is a mixed game. This method that your team adopted is very physical and will hence lead to a rough game." Sasuke stated not making eye-contact with Kiba. "That's the point. We didn't get to finish our little skirmish back there so I'm facilitating it using this tactic."

Sasuke then looked over at Kiba with a cold look in his eyes. "Pay attention Sasuke!" Naruto shouted from across the field. Sasuke, who was focused solely on Kiba had completely forgotten about the game. By the time he snapped back to reality the ball was in the air already heading towards him and Kiba. This put him at a disadvantage as Kiba had already risen to control the ball which he successfully did, out-muscling a flat-footed Sasuke who tumbled to the ground.

"Fuck! He caught me off guard." Sasuke thought with a grimace as he picked himself up off the grass. Kiba was free to run towards goal as Sasuke fell pretty hard and was unable to catch up to him. Neji, realising the strife that his teammate was in, sprinted back in an attempt to prevent Kiba from scoring. He made up some good ground and eventually caught up with Kiba, who took immediate notice prompting him to take a long and speculative shot from outside the penalty box.

Tenten dived to her right, sticking out her right hand to try and parry the ball away from goal. She followed the trajectory of the ball accurately and was therefore able to get her hand to the ball but due to the sheer power of the shot the ball managed to wriggle through her grasp and into the goal. "Damn it! I should've saved that" Tenten shouted as she hit the ground in frustration.

"Don't worry about that, it's alright. It was a tough shot to stop anyway" Neji said, looking at Kiba who ran off celebrating his goal in the distance. "I messed up, I let the team down" Tenten again lamented still lying on the turf.

"No, I'm the one at fault. I wasn't paying attention." said Sasuke who had finally re-joined his teammates. "I apologize for that but it looks like Kiba's intending to play a physical game to continue the fight between him and I." "Isn't that what Gai-sensei said not to do?" Sakura questioned. "Even so we mustn't refuse such a challenge!" Lee proposed, fuelled by the power of youth. "So what should we do?" Hinata asked.

"We'll take them head on. They're very powerful offensively but weak defensively, with Lee on our side we will strike back quickly and efficiently on the counterattack." Sasuke stated calmly as he returned to his position awaiting the restart of the match. "Alright, you heard what he said let's do this guys" Naruto prompted as he too returned to his position.

Neji held out his hand to help up Tenten, who was still on the floor pouting at her earlier effort to prevent the goal. She accepted his gesture and held his hand, subsequently being pulled to her feet by a seemingly effortless motion on Neji's part. He then pulled her closer, much to Tenten's surprise as she was expecting him to let her go and walk away.

"I understand that you're disappointed about that goal but moping about it isn't going to change anything. In fact, it would be detrimental to our team's cause. Instead, as cheesy as it sounds, you should try to be positive and prevent them from scoring any more." Neji advised as he gave her a pat on the shoulder.

Tenten took a deep breath and responded with a smile saying "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the advice". Neji saw a marked difference in her personality as her usual cheerful demeanour resurfaced. "Alright let's get back into formation, the game's about restart." Neji suggested.

He was jogging back to his position in midfield when he realised Tenten running beside him. "Um, What are you doing?" Neji questioned looking at her perplexedly. "I'm getting back into position" Tenten responded. "You were the keeper weren't you? So you'd have to be back there in goal" Neji stated still looking a bit confused.

"Oh yeah right! Sorry it's just that when they scored there was kind of a delay in the game and then we spoke for a bit and I sort of forgot" Tenten explained chuckling nervously. There were a couple seconds of silence until Tenten wished Neji good luck for the remainder of the game and then sprinted back to goal.

As she ran back she thought to herself "The dumbest thing that you could possibly do and you do it… real smooth Tenten." Her mistake, though, was enough to elicit a very slight chuckle from the Hyuga, which was quite a feat as Neji is usually rather stoic.

Ino, who was on the other side of the field, noticed their interaction and turned to Shikamaru and Temari. "Did you guys see Neji and Tenten just now? They were so adorable." Ino said. "What?" Shikamaru replied as he let out a big yawn. "Tenten was speaking with Neji and she was totally blushing, I mean her face was practically red. Then, when they parted ways Neji couldn't stop smiling." Ino explained.

"It sounds like you are exaggerating it a little. They're really far away so how could you see their facial expression? Secondly Neji isn't the kind of person to be all smiley. Anyway why are you so interested in everyone's business? You don't have a boyfriend so shouldn't you focus on yourself?" Shikamaru rebutted.

"None of the guys in our class are good enough. Sasuke was the only possible prospect but I decided against him. Also the only reason I'm so interested in Tenten's business is so that I could tease her about it later. It'll be fun to see how red her face gets" Ino stated, smiling deviously at the prospect of poking fun at her friend. Temari then interjected urging her teammates to return to their positions as the match was about to restart.

"Geez, this is too much work. I wish I was the goalie." Shikamaru thought to himself as he sighed. Nevertheless the match continued and Sasuke's team played a highly possessive game, keeping the ball from the rival team. They waited patiently for Team B to commit more persons forward to try and win the ball.

As soon as Sasuke realised that they were short in defence he played a slick ball through to Neji who immediately looked up and spotted a galloping Lee. Neji played a perfectly weighted ball that found Lee and set him free on goal. From there he was never going to miss as he blasted the ball past Choji who was rooted to the spot. Lee who was ecstatic ran to Neji, as he provided the assist for the goal, to celebrate with him.

Lee jumped on his back, piggyback style, pointed towards the sky and shouted "We can win this! Let's go!" Everyone on the field cringed a little at the odd sight, even Sasuke seemed a bit creeped out. "Oh hell no!" Neji shouted as he threw Lee off of him. It was so fast that Lee probably only got to spend a couple of milliseconds on him.

Neji looked like he was about ready to murder Lee until Gai-sensei stepped in to restart the game. Possession was with Kiba's team and they were employing their strategy of long balls from the back. Shikamaru looked up and spotted Kiba unmarked, he played a long ball but it was a bit ahead of him.

Kiba was unwilling to let it go as the match was deadlocked and his competitive nature disallowed him from accepting a draw. Sasuke, who was also unwilling to back down, was sharply following the trajectory of the ball. They were both running full speed at each other, eyes fixed firmly on the ball. The both of them leapt together in an attempt to win the ball but they missed it completely and they clattered painfully into each other.

They fell heavily to the ground and were both motionless for a few seconds seconds prompting everyone to rush to the scene. Sasuke was the first to move, his hands were holding his face which was covered in blood. Kiba was still yet to move.

**Author's notes **

I have quite a bit to talk about so here goes. I've gotten reviews stating that my content was good (thank you for that by the way) but it was too short. The last chapter was about 1500 words and this one is about 1800 I'll try to aim for 2000 in the next chapter. Also someone said that I should make the description more detailed. The thing is I don't really have a set plan of anything in this story. No main character, no definite plot points none of that stuff. It's more anecdotal than anything else. Anyway enjoy the chapter.


	7. Recovery

"Move aside, move aside!" Gai-sensei shouted as he made his way through the crowd surrounding Sasuke and Kiba. Sasuke had moved his hands from his face allowing his wounds to be seen. He was bleeding from the nose and was cut just below his eye. Kiba followed soon after and finally moved around after what seemed like an eternity.

He attempted to get up but stumbled and fell on his knees. Gai held him securely though, he then asked "Are you alright? Can you tell me what your name is? Or where you are?" "Uh what?" he responded as he looked around confusedly. He was holding his head and looked extremely dazed.

"He has a concussion. You have to get him to the medical room." Sakura advised looking keenly at Kiba. "I don't think Ms. Shizune is present today though." Hinata interjected. "Don't worry I'll request Madam Tsunade's assistance. I'm sure she could put off being the principal for a bit." Gai stated as he retrieved a stretcher. "Wait, but if Madam Tsunade is busy with Kiba who'll take care of Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.

"You can take care of him can't you? Tsunade is always bragging about you being her top student. Anyway we have no time to waste so let's go" Gai responded as he successfully got Kiba unto the stretcher with Shino's assistance. Sakura, who was surprised with the level of trust placed in her, approached Sasuke and knelt down next to him.

"Are you alright to walk?" she asked examining his injuries. "I'm not sure. I still feel a bit dizzy from the collision." he responded coolly as if he wasn't hurt at all. "Don't worry I'll help you out." Sakura said as she placed his arm around her shoulder and grabbed him tightly around his midsection. The two then rose to their feet gingerly and proceeded towards Gai who addressed the rest of the class

"The rest of you stay here, while we're gone". Eventually they made it to the medical rooms, Gai requested Tsuande's presence and sure enough she appeared, tending to a still dazed Kiba in medical room 1. Meanwhile Sakura was treating Sasuke in room 2.

"Alright, use this gauze to apply pressure to your cut and keep your head tilted forward." Sakura advised as she pinched Sasuke's nose, to stop the nosebleed. Sasuke gritted his teeth a bit showing slight discomfort, which didn't go unnoticed by Sakura "I'm sorry but I'll have to keep pinching your nose for about 5 to 10 minutes" she explained "That's fine ." he responded as he glanced over to the clock on the wall.

Sakura stood there, right in front of him thinking to herself "Holy crap, it's just Sasuke and I together in this room for at least 10 minutes. Alright, calm down this is my chance to finally talk to him, I have to make a really good first impression if I want him to like me. Wait a minute, I don't know anything about him! Likes, dislikes none of that stuff. Damn it what should I say?"

As she was thinking frantically Sasuke looked over at her as she seemed pensive and a bit nervous. "Something wrong?" he asked as their eyes met. "Oh no everything's fine. Sorry about the worried facial expression I was thinking about something else" Sakura responded smiling so as to reassure what she just said. "What were you thinking about?" he questioned with his eyes still fixed on her.

She then thought to herself "I wonder why he's so talkative. I mean he's only asked me 2 questions but by his usual standards that's a lot. Up until today I've hardly seen him speak at all! Wait, more importantly he asked what I was thinking about. I can't tell him that I was thinking frantically about what to say to him, that'll be kind of weird. I'll have to make up something."

"If you don't mind my asking." He added as there was a bit of silence. "Oh no I don't mind." She responded chuckling nervously as she just realized how long she took to reply "Uh my mom asked me to do something but I haven't gotten to it as yet so I was thinking about how much she is going to nag me when I get home." "I see" he replied. "You know how parents are." She added attempting to consolidate her lie.

"I don't" he stated as he returned his focus to the clock on the wall. "You mean your parents are-" she said hesitantly. She then bent her head sorrowfully "I'm sorry for your loss" "I don't need your pity, death is just a natural part of life. Once you're born you're fated to die, apologising for it is useless." Sasuke said grimly. He then shut his eyes and took a deep breath waiting for Sakura to finish.

After a bit silence she asked him what their names were. Sasuke opened his eyes in surprise of her question as he thought the conversation would be over with his last statement. "What did you say?" he asked. "I was just wondering what their names were." She repeated. "Why does it matter to you? They're already gone." He stated, his eyes again fixed on her but with a more baffled look this time.

"People are given a name at birth and this makes them differentiable from anyone else in the world. It's also unique in that it lives on, even in death, as people reminisce about the time spent with that person. Their name carries on permanently unlike other worldly possessions which are only temporary. Names are really amazing in that aspect don't you think?" She said as she lifted her head and returned focus on the Uchiha.

Sasuke remained silent, looking up at the ceiling with a highly contemplative look meanwhile Sakura was studying his face and noticed his tense demeanour. "You sound a bit like my brother." He stated, breaking the silence. As he said that Sakura noticed that all the muscles in his face seemed to simultaneously relax. "You must really love your brother." She said smiling "Your whole face loosened up when you mentioned him."

"My parents died when I was really young so he's been taking care of me since then. He fulfilled the role of a mother and a father while still completing his role as a brother. He's the most important person to me in this world." He mused, still gazing at the ceiling. Sakura stared at him, again unresponsive. "Is something actually wrong this time or are you just staring at me again?" Sasuke asked as he just realised Sakura gawking at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry it's just that it's weird to see you this happy" she answered. "What do you mean 'this happy'? I'm not even smiling" Sasuke retorted. "Yeah you're not smiling but your face isn't all tense like it usually is. You seem really friendly now unlike before when you looked like you want to murder everyone." She explained.

"I'm not looking to make friends so I don't really care about how I appear to other people. Unfortunately despite that I end up more often than not attracting some annoying people like Naruto." he sighed. "Granted Naruto is overbearing at times but he's really a nice guy underneath it all." she responded in Naruto's defence. "I know, even though he pisses me off most of the times he's one of the few people I can regard as my uhh colleague." He admitted.

Eventually ten minutes had elapsed and so Sakura released her grip on Sasuke's nose. She examined it closely, ensuring that the bleeding had completely stopped. She then rummaged through a cabinet and retrieved some Vaseline. "Apply this lightly to the inside of your nose" she instructed as she gave him the bottle. She took his hand which was applying pressure to the cut and removed it from his face.

"Okay this isn't too bad, the cut is relatively small and the bleeding has more or less stopped. I'll just use some butterfly strips." She said, breathing a sigh of relief as he wouldn't require any serious medical attention. "Are you sure? There seemed to be quite a lot of blood." He responded as he applied the Vaseline. "Don't worry cuts on the face tend to produce more blood so this is normal." She explained with a reassuring smile.

Sasuke nodded in acceptance as he closed the Vaseline bottle and set it aside. "Alright I'm all done here." She said as she gently rubbed the butterfly strips on Sasuke's face. Sasuke thanked her as he rose to his feet. "You're welcome it was my pleasure. Although, I think you should go home and get some rest." She advised.

"I don't really feel unwell or anything. Plus I'd miss some classes." He responded in protest. "Still, as a precautionary measure I'd strongly advise you go home and rest. Also I'd be happy to lend you my books so you could catch up on the notes you missed." She said. "Fine, I'll take your advice." he acquiesced as he took out his phone. He then called his brother

"Hey Itachi it's me. Can you come pick me up from school? ... No everything's fine I'm not in trouble or anything. I just got a bit of an injury … Don't worry it's nothing serious but the person tending to me advised me to go home and rest … Alright goodbye." "So will he be able to come get you?" Sakura asked. "Yes, he's actually not too far away so he'll be here soon." He responded as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"I'll wait on the bench in front of school." He said as he proceeded towards the door. "Uh hold on, I think I should wait with you so I could monitor you just in case anything happens" Sakura blurted out just as Sasuke was about to leave. Sasuke looked back at her for a couple seconds before agreeing to her proposal. Sakura smiled to herself "I didn't think he would actually say yes maybe he does-" she thought as she left the room with him.

They eventually arrived at the bench and sat down awaiting Itachi's arrival. "Too bad this day has to end. I'll probably never see you talk this much ever again in my life." Sakura joked. "Maybe, I don't think I've spoken this much to anyone from our school. Actually you're the first person to know the story about my parents." Sasuke replied. "Are you serious? You didn't even tell Neji or Shino?" she questioned to which he shook his head. "Well if you didn't tell your friends why would you tell me, someone you just met?" she asked.

"I didn't want you to take your parents for granted." he answered. "Oh you mean that thing about my mom" She said after a bit of thought "I'm sorry but that was untrue, I kind of made that up" "I see. What were you thinking of then?" he enquired. "I was uh thinking about what I should say to you." She said with slight hesitance. "Why?" he questioned.

"You're a pretty shrewd guy so I'm sure that you've realized already. Most of the girls in our classes are uh kind of obsessed with you." She explained. "I've realized, it's extremely annoying to deal with almost all the time." He said as he sighed deeply. Sakura then thought to herself "Oh when he ignored Ino it wasn't because he was unfriendly, he was probably just tired of the continuous advances by other girls that he doesn't even like."

Sakura readjusted herself on the bench and crossed her legs "I thought you were pretty interesting so I wanted to make a really good first impression." She explained "Well I suppose you got your wish we had quite a long conversation" he said. "Haha yeah it was actually pretty easy in retrospect." She joked "There was actually this rumour going around that you only liked girls with long hair so all the girls grew out their hair."

"Why didn't you?" he questioned. "I won't alter my personal preferences just to suit another's. I like my hair short so I'll keep it that way." She proclaimed with aplomb. "Well said. Where did everyone hear this rumour anyway?" he responded. "I'm not sure but they said it was a reliable source or something." She answered. "You should tell them to find a new source because their current one is inaccurate." He advised.

"Then that would mean he prefers girls with short hair. He didn't necessarily have to tell me that either… unless he wanted me to know that. Is he interested in me? Ugh what should I do?" she thought to herself, blushing a bit from the thought. At that moment Itachi arrived in front of the school and honked the horn to alert Sasuke of his presence.

"It seems that my brother has arrived." He said as he got up from his seat. "Ah well I guess this is goodbye then." Sakura said glumly as she realized their little talk was over. "Yeah, but I'll need those notes that I miss so I'll see you tomorrow." He said as if to reassure her that this won't be their last interaction. "Oh Right! I look forward to it." She said ecstatically as she remembered the offer she made.

He made his way to Itachi's car before stopping midway and saying "Mikoto and Fugaku" Sakura looked perplexedly at the Uchiha who was facing away from her. "Those were my parents' names" he said as he looked back at her. "Well I think they're wonderful names." She stated as she smiled warmly at him. Sasuke then turned around and continued his walk to the car and opened the door. As he entered the vehicle Sakura could've sworn that she saw a smile on his face too.

**Author's Notes **

Yo I'm back guys . More importantly this chapter is around 2300 words so this will probably be the average amount per chapter. I think that's a pretty decent length. Regarding this chapter I was relatively happy with it but sometimes I found the dialogue was monotonous. Also the ending was kind of rushed but I'm too tired to fix it. I should probably stop being so lazy.

~Cloud 


	8. Flowers

Ino rose slowly from her bed having a stretch and letting out a big yawn. She moved her hair from obscuring her vision to look at her alarm clock which read 12:15pm. It was a Saturday morning so the fact that she slept in so late meant very little.

She sauntered towards the bathroom to get herself ready to start the day. As she brushed her teeth she contemplated what she would have for breakfast. Ino had a slim figure despite her monstrous appetite which is comparable to that of Choji's even though she hates to admit it. Sakura doesn't call her Ino-pig for no reason.

She finished her freshening up and left the bathroom destined for the kitchen. She rummaged through the cupboard and found her preferred cereal. She grabbed a bowl, piled the cereal in and submerged it in milk. Finally she sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. Her mom then entered the room looking incredibly busy.

"Good morning mom." Ino garbled as her mouth was full. "It's afternoon sleepyhead and don't talk with your mouth full no one will understand what you're saying." Ino's mom advised. "Oh yeah, sorry." Ino responded, ensuring her mouth was empty this time.

"Hmm, I wonder what I'll do today? I guess I could call Sakura and see if she wants to go somewhere. Eh but she'll just be blabbing on about Sasuke. Ever since she treated him yesterday she's been talking about him non-stop." Ino thought to herself.

"Well I guess I could probably see if Hinata is free today." she said out loud as she reached for her phone. "Oh Ino about that" her mother interjected "I kind of need you to watch the shop for a bit." "Aww but mom it's Saturday." Ino groaned as she set down the phone she had just picked up.

"I'm sorry Ino but I have a really tight schedule today. You know how tough it's been since your father passed on." Her mother stated. Ino then bent her head disconsolately as she reminisced about her father. Ino's mother approached her and held her shoulder reassuringly "I'll only be gone for a bit okay?" "Yeah, okay I don't really mind anyway." Ino replied with a sincere smile.

She eventually finished her breakfast and assumed her position at the counter of the store. Her mother gave her some last minute instructions before rushing out the house. "She should be back in about an hour or so. I wonder how many customers I'll have to deal with?" Ino thought to herself as she pulled up a chair.

Time trudged on sluggishly, Ino looked up at the clock on the wall to find that only 15 minutes had passed. "Jeez, 15 minutes? It feels like I've been here for an eternity. Anyway this place is deserted, I thought that there would be at least a few people here. If I'd known that it was going be this boring I would've brought my phone with me." Ino groaned as she rested her head on the counter.

Sai walked down the street, surveying from left to right very carefully. "Hmm I could've sworn that there was a flower shop somewhere around here." He thought to himself as he stopped momentarily, looking around. "Ah there it is" he exclaimed aloud as he crossed the street and arrived at the building. When he opened the door the shop doorbell rang, waking up Ino who had fallen asleep.

She shot up immediately and greeted him "Good afternoon. How may I help you?" "I'm sorry to have disturbed you from your nap Ino." He replied with his usual smile. "Oh is that you uh Sai?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes. "Wow you must've been pretty tired huh?" he asked. "Me, no, I was just resting my eyes." she answered.

"Resting your eyes huh? Then why is that card stuck to your face?" He asked as he reached out and removed it from her face. "Alright fine you got me, I was sleeping. I guess I fell asleep on this stack of business cards and I couldn't feel it because my face was numb. I guess I'm lucky that you came here as opposed to some random person they'd be like this girl is crazy, so thanks." She said

"Oh yeah don't mention it. I had actually heard that your family owned a flower shop but I didn't know that it was this place. I was pretty surprised when I walked in and saw you." He stated. "Oh yeah we actually live here, we just opened a flower shop in front of our house because my family is obsessed with flowers, myself included." She explained.

"Oh that's pretty cool." He said as he looked around. "Oh wait I almost got side-tracked, uh I came to buy some flowers." He said laughing and scratching the back of his head. "Alright, what'll you have?" she asked as she stood up. "May I have a bouquet of-. Hmm I'm not really sure what kinds of flowers are acceptable. Hey I know that different flowers have varying meanings and symbolism and stuff so what type of flower do you think is appropriate to place at a grave?" he asked.

"Oh umm well traditionally lilies or poppies are used but I think it would be more meaningful if you get a flower that the deceased liked." She advised. "Oh okay well I think he liked umm. Well I'm not exactly sure about the name but it looked kind of uh… fluffy and red." He stated rubbing his chin. "Fluffy and red huh? That's pretty descriptive." She quipped as she leaned on the counter.

"Haha sorry, let me try something different." He said as he took out a pencil from his messenger bag. He then placed the business card on the counter and drew the flower that he was thinking of. "Wow, that's really good, I didn't know you could draw so well!" she exclaimed as she took the card and inspected it closely. "Oh it's nothing really." He replied, placing his pencil back in his bag.

"You're just being modest. More importantly I think I know which flower you mean, be right back." She said as she left via a door behind the counter. She returned in a few seconds bearing the flower "This is it right?" she asked just to confirm. "Yup that's the one" he answered after a bit of thought.

"Okay cool, it's called a carnation by the way. So the next time you want to purchase a bouquet you'll know the name and you won't have to describe it as… fluffy and red again." She joked as she prepared the bouquet for him. "Thank you, I'll try to remember that" he stated as his characteristic smile returned.

When Sai's bouquet was finished, she handed it to him and he paid the required amount of money. "Alright bye, make sure you come again soon." Ino said, waving him goodbye. "Yeah I'll see you later, at school I guess." He replied as he opened the door and left. As soon as he stepped out Ino's mother arrived in front of the building.

She opened the trunk of her car revealing loads of bags containing various gardening related items. "Good afternoon. Are you Mrs. Yamanaka?" Sai asked. "Yes I am and you are?" she responded. "Oh sorry my name is Sai and I'm a friend of Ino's. I just noticed that you have a lot of bags so I was wondering if you'd like some help to carry them inside." He offered.

"That would actually be really helpful because I have a couple of really heavy ones that Ino and I might have some trouble lifting." She admitted. Ino's mother entered the store to recruited Ino's assistance and Sai followed to place his bouquet back on the counter. The three of them then transported all of the goods inside the shop.

"Phew, I'm getting to old for this." Ino's mother joked as she shared a laugh with Sai who was wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Would you like anything Sai? Something to drink or to eat?" Ino's mother asked. "No thank you, I'm fine but I appreciate the offer." He politely refused. "Alright well I have some things to get sorted out so thanks again for your help." Ino's mother told him as she left.

"Well I best be on my way too." Sai stated as he picked up his bouquet from the counter. "Are you going to the cemetery down the road from here?" Ino questioned. Sai looked back at her and nodded. "I didn't see anyone outside waiting for you. Are you going all by yourself?" she asked. "Yeah but it's no big deal." He replied.

"Yeah but this person passed away recently right?" she again questioned. "Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked perplexedly. "You asked me what type of flower is suitable to place on a grave. That means that you weren't sure which implies that this is the first time you're doing this." She answered. "Oh yeah that's true, you're pretty sharp huh? Well how's about it, do you want to come with me?" he suggested.

"Umm alright but first let me change my clothes" Ino stated, looking down and realizing she still had an apron on. They eventually set of, on foot as the cemetery was not too far from Ino's house. "Why did you decide to come?" Sai asked, placing his hands in his pockets. "Well because it's your first time and also I'm going to place some flowers at my dad's grave." She replied, showing him the bouquet of flowers she brought.

"I'm sorry to hear of your father's passing." Sai said, offering his condolences. "He actually died not too long ago. It feels like it was just yesterday he was with us. Who are you going to mourn?" she enquired. "My brother, umm well my adoptive brother." He answered. "Oh your family adopted him?" she questioned once more.

"No, I was actually an orphan myself. We both belonged to the same orphanage when we were younger. He and I were assigned to stay in the same room, we were best friends at first glance so we looked out for each other. As fate would have it we were adopted by a nice family, I was so happy it was pretty much the best possible outcome. Those days we spent there were the best days of my life. Unfortunately life is cruel sometimes. Shin, that's my brother's name by the way, contracted a terminal illness and was forced to live in pain. There was nothing they could do to save him and so he died about a month ago." He explained.

Ino, who was disconsolate from Sai's story, looked over at him with the intent of offering some comforting words. She was shocked to see though that after delivering his heart-wrenching story he didn't look sad at all, he was actually smiling.

"Oh we're here!" he exclaimed as he walked on ahead. Ino followed him thinking to herself "What's up with him? That was one of the saddest stories I've ever heard, I mean his brother died really recently too. How is he still able to smile?"

They both stopped at the entrance to the cemetery "So where to first?" Sai asked. "Well, my father's grave is pretty close so we'll go there first." Ino said as she led the way. When she arrived, she knelt down and placed the flowers at his grave stone. Sai, who was standing behind her, looked at her closely as she remained silent for a moment.

She then rose to her feet and they both made their way to Shin's grave. Sai did the same as Ino, placing the flowers at the grave stone and having a moment of silence. He then re-joined Ino "So, what now?" he questioned, smiling once more. "Why do you smile so much?" Ino finally asked.

"What do you mean?" he enquired. "Your brother died only a month ago and this is the first time you've visited the grave besides the funeral. Anyone else would cry or at least frown but you seem happy." She said.

"I'm not happy, I'm actually very saddened. When my brother died though, all of my emotions were buried alongside him. I forced this smile since I was a child to make everyone think that I was alright. It's better that way, if I show my true emotions everyone would only waste their time trying to make me feel better so I mask it with a smile." Sai said as he frowned.

"Why do you want to keep your emotions hidden so badly?" she asked. "All emotions do is hold you back in life. That's why human beings are so fragile because having emotions makes us open to so much pain and suffering. A world where people have no emotions is an ideal world, that's why I've discarded mine." He declared.

"You're right that having emotions leave us open to pain but you're wrong if you think that's all there is to it. It also leaves us open to happiness, surprise, serenity, love and other amazing emotions. All these emotions then combine together and make us who we are, both the good and bad. Therefore if you discard your emotions then you give up on who you truly are and furthermore you also discard the emotions that other people evoked in you. If that's your idea of an ideal world then I'll stay in this imperfect world." She argued. Sai hung his head, his hair obscuring his eyes.

"I didn't know your brother but it seemed that you really loved each other. I'm sure that he'd roll over in his grave if he saw you in your current state." Ino added, her voice breaking with each word. She looked down with her blue eyes misty from the tears welling up. Some teardrops then hit the grass, Ino's eyes widened in surprise as they weren't hers.

She looked over at Sai, his fists were clenched and tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Forgive me Shin, I've been such a fool." He said aloud. Ino walked up to him and held the back of his head, gently pulling his head onto her shoulder to console him. They stayed there, completely motionless, for quite some time.

As the day wore on they exited the cemetery and sat on the bench outside, observing the cars as they passed by. "Oh yeah I meant to ask why did you bring that bag with you?" Ino asked. "I keep my sketch pad in here and I always carry it around with me just in case I get inspired and want to draw something. " he responded.

"Oh that's cool. May I see it?" she asked. "Sure." he responded as he rummaged through his bag and gave it to her. "You really are an amazing artist!" she exclaimed as she riffled through the pages. "Oh! Could you draw me?" she asked excitedly. "Really? Yeah sure I'd love to." He accepted, smiling like he usually would. Ino saw this smile and could tell that it was different from before, that it was a genuine one and she couldn't help but smile too.

"Ah! Keep that face, that's perfect." He exclaimed when he saw her smile. 25 minutes passed by, Sai looked at his drawing, then at Ino, then at his drawing once more. Ino was tired and breathed a deep sigh "Are you almost done yet?" she questioned. "Almost, ah you moved a bit." he said, looking up from his drawing.

He then held her chin and tilted it back to its original position. "Just five more minutes I promise." He reassured her. He held good to his promise and was finished in five minutes time. "Alright I'm finished." He stated triumphantly looking at his work. "Finally, let me see" Ino said as she stood up and stretched.

"Not yet, I'll give it to you but at a price." He responded with a smirk on his face. "What!? Fine how much do you want you cheapskate?" she quipped. "I don't want your money, I want some of your time. I would like to hang out with you again, you know aside from school." He stated. "You mean like a date?" she enquired playfully. "You could say that." He responded subtly "Alright, you've got yourself a deal." She answered as Sai gave her the drawing. She then smiled "You got ripped off. I was going to ask to see you again anyway."

**Author's Notes**

I've got a bit to discuss this time so let's get into it. Firstly I want to change the name of this story. I'm not from the US so the education system is different in my country so when I was naming it I used our education system as a reference and named it Konoha College. College, though, gives the connotation that they are like early 20's but this isn't the case, they are their normal age from the manga. So if anyone has any suggestions as to what I should re-name the series I'm all ears. I've got something in mind but as you can see I don't have such a good track record with regards to naming things. Secondly I was considering for a bit re-writing some of the previous chapters because I don't really like them. Ultimately I decided that I won't change them, even though they could be better I'll leave them as a reminder of where I started. Finally regarding the chapter, I thought it went pretty well. These stories are getter darker as opposed to more light hearted which isn't what I intended. But hey can you really blame me a lot of these Naruto characters have dark pasts.

~Cloud. 


End file.
